The Untapped Value of Obsessive Problem Solvers 

Article Three | The Future at Work Series

In today's complex and rapidly changing organisational environments, being an obsessive problem solver is critical for building a workforce ready for tomorrow - where people thrive, purpose drives, and we activate a world of powerful potential. Being future-fit, whether as an organisation, an individual, or a team, requires an obsession with uncovering the root causes of the toughest challenges we face today.   

Over the past two and half decades, our extensive experience and exposure to various approaches and methodologies, working with many different organisations, has shown us the impact of focusing on problem-solving rather than simply providing generic solutions.  

We built Sprouta because we could see significant time and investment was being spent fixing problems within organisations. Yet, time and time again, these complex problems weren’t actually being solved. Within our carefully curated Sprouta Ecosystem, we’re lucky enough to have Partners that transform operating models to solve problems, so we’ve learnt from the best. (Shout out to Factor.AI and nextgenify !).   

In this article, the third in our Future At Work Perspectives Series, we explore the qualities and characteristics of an obsessive problem solver. We look at how leaders can foster a culture that encourages and supports obsessive problem-solving within their organisations and unpack why this will make all the difference between surviving and thriving in the future, at work.    

Recognising the Nature of Problems   

Organisations' complex, systemic People, Performance and Culture challenges are nuanced and context dependent. They can’t be solved by assuming cookie-cutter solutions will propel an organisation forward. Cultivating curiosity and delving deeper into these problems is essential to understanding them and building solutions that will actually solve them.   

Through our experience, we’ve noticed a tendency for external consultants and providers to problem-jump – they listen at a superficial level to the problem, assume they’ve encountered something similar in the past and quickly jump over the problem to deliver a solution. This approach fails to explore the problem space to understand context, specific objectives, operating systems and impact on people. And it often means that the underlying causes are left untouched and misunderstood.   

By avoiding problem-jumping, organisations can side-step expensive failures that can have far-reaching, detrimental effects on morale, mental health, and overall business performance.   

At Sprouta, we use our problem-solving process with our client community to get to the root cause of their presenting challenges. We like to call it “being problem-obsessed”. We work with our client and partner community individually and collectively to get to the root of the problem and the different ways it presents in an organisation so we can diagnose and prioritise the issues to deliver multi-faceted, practical and integrated solutions that work.  

Sprouta is partner agnostic, meaning they're not tied up in their own frameworks, not tied up in their own content and their own thinking of “We believe our approach for doing this best”. 

It’s really coming from the place of understanding the context of the organisation, what the challenge is, and then finding the right partner that they believe would help in that situation, or who could best add value in that situation, and tapping into their network to find the right partner. 

Former Head of People and Organisational Development at Grab

Defining the Qualities of an Obsessive Problem Solver   

As obsessive problem solvers ourselves, we’ve identified several qualities and characteristics that define individuals with this mindset:    

Curiosity is at the core of their approach, as they continually seek to learn and grow. They create safe spaces for open dialogue, allowing individuals to admit when they don't know or have failed.    

Courage enables them to challenge the status quo, define problems clearly, and dig deeper when necessary. They approach tensions and disagreements with an open mind, focusing on the big picture rather than their ego (think big self vs little self).    

Inclusive idea generation is another critical trait, fostering diverse perspectives and unconventional thinking and creating space for people to think about their unique viewpoints and share ideas when ready. Collaborating with peers and stakeholders is highly valued, recognising that problem-solving is a collective effort.   

They keep their eye on the prize. An obsessive problem solver maintains a laser-like focus on the problem at hand, demonstrating adaptability and a results-driven mindset.   

Finally, an obsessive problem-solver continually creates Thinking Space and acts as a Thought Partner, – someone to bounce ideas off and share thinking, contextual challenges and struggles without being overbearing or directive. They know more about the problems (and the solutions) through every conversation. This is one we live and breathe at Sprouta!   

In these rapidly changing organisational environments, the ability to solve problems with creativity and determination has become a vital skill for a workforce ready for tomorrow. Individuals can uncover unique solutions that create lasting impact through curiosity, collaboration, and a relentless focus on the root causes of problems. The future belongs to those who embrace limitless possibilities, navigate unchartered territories, and approach problems with an obsession to find meaningful answers. 

Want to shape the Future at Work confidently? We’re here to help. Book a spot on our Listening Tour.  

 By coming together, we can learn from each other and share how we face these common macro-challenges through collective sense-making. Let’s share our stories and rise to these new challenges so we all thrive.    

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